Emily Dickinson Lexicon

IM-PRESS', v.t. [L. impressum, from imprimo; in and premo, to press.]

1. To imprint; to stamp; to make a mark or figure on any thing by pressure; as, to impress coin with the figure of a man's head, or with that of an ox or sheep; to impress a figure on wax or clay.
2. To print, as books.
3. To mark; to indent.
4. To fix deep; as, to impress truth on the mind, or facts on the memory. Hence, to convict of sin.
5. To compel to enter into public service, as seamen; to seize and take into service by compulsion, as nurses in sickness. In this sense, we use press or impress indifferently.
6. To seize; to take for public service; as, to impress provisions. Marshall.